After week of late-night drama in which Jay Leno traded
barbs with David Letterman and tossed a few pot shots at NBC, the comedian will
be making quips of a different kind this spring. Leno will headline the annual White House
Correspondents Dinner on May 1, White House Correspondents Association
Executive Director Julia Whiston confirmed to B&C Friday.
It will be Leno's fourth time hosting the nationally
televised dinner-he also did the honors in 1987, 2000 and 2004. A source told The Washington Post's Lisa
de Morales the White House Correspondents Association had reached out
to Leno long before the late-nightbrouhaha with Conan O'Brien erupted.
Recent entertainers at the dinner, which is traditionally
attended by the president, have included Wanda Sykes, Craig Ferguson and
impersonator Richard Little. Stephen
Colbert made headlines in 2006 when his satires of President Bush and his
administration caused several Bush staffers
to walk out and drew criticism from some in the Washington press corps.
